1. Field of the Invention
The disclosure herein relates to a pallet apparatus for transporting, loading/unloading, or storage of a relatively heavy piece of equipment or product, such as a large copy machine on casters.
2. Description of the Related Art
A piece of heavy equipment or product such as a copy machine on casters is often supported on a steel pallet with high rigidity and packaged thereon for storage, loading/unloading, or transport. In this case, the equipment or product needs to be properly fixed or supported on the pallet while considering anti-vibration properties or shock-absorbing properties. For this purpose, various pallet apparatuses and attaching mechanisms have been proposed.
Japanese Patent No. 3615631 (“Patent Document 1”) discusses a supporting structure of an equipment mounting pallet. In this structure, a concave groove portion is formed in an upper surface of a deck board of a pallet, and a resilient member is inserted in the concave groove portion. Casters on a product are resiliently supported on the resilient member, which is substantially flush with the upper surface of the deck board. A fixing member is inserted between the lower surface of the product and the upper surface of the deck board. The product is fixed by fastening a bolt in threaded engagement with the product or a nut welded onto the deck board with one hand.
Some image forming apparatus are large and heavy. A heavy image forming apparatus may be equipped with casters so that it can be moved on a flat surface, such as the floor, without using loading/unloading equipment, such as a forklift. Such a large and heavy product may be mounted on the pallet by fixing the product on a fixing member disposed on the pallet and then fixing the fixing member onto the pallet by using a fastening unit. In this case, the casters on the product may be located above and away from the mounting surface of the pallet, so that the weight of the product is received by the pallet via the fixing member.
Such large and heavy products are typically mounted on the pallet in the factories or storehouses. In this case, the product can be lifted and placed on the fixing member disposed on the pallet by using a loading/unloading apparatus such as a forklift. Thus, the product can be lowered onto the fixing member on the pallet by using the loading/unloading apparatus. The pallet with the product may then be transported and unloaded at the location of installation of the product. The unloading may involve releasing the product from the fixing member, and then releasing the fixing member from the pallet. The product is then lifted in order to allow the fixing member to be detached, and thereafter the product is lowered from the pallet fixing member onto the installation surface.
During the operation of releasing the product from the pallet and lowering the product from the mounting surface of the pallet on to the installment surface, a lifting machine attached to the loading deck of a truck may be used to lower the mounting surface of the pallet to the same height as the installation floor so that the product can be transported on casters. Alternatively, an unloading ramp may be provided between the mounting surface and the installation floor so that the product can be moved on casters.
The product is often unloaded at the place of installation, such as in the office. Such places are typically not provided with loading/unloading equipment, such as a forklift. In this case, it is difficult to lift and release the product from the pallet with the conventional structure of the pallet.